Shivesh Bhatia shares 5 delectable desserts to sweeten the festivities

Looking for the picture-perfect blend of east meets west? Motichoor cheesecake is as ornate as it gets with bright sugary pearls of Boondi (made from fried chickpea flour). Cheesecakes are one of the most loved dessert. Add a desi twist to them and your guests will experience a delicious burst of flavours.

Ingredients:

For the base

• 1+1/2 cups (150gms) crushed biscuit
• ¼ cup (25gms) pistachios
• ½ cup (95gms) ghee
  

For the boondi

• ½ cup (50gms) Besan (Chickpea flour)
• ⅓ cup (80ml) water
• 1 tsp (2.5ml) Orange food colour (Shop Now)
  

For the sugar syrup

• ⅓ cup (80gms) water
• ½ cup (100gms) sugar
• 1 tsp rose water (Shop Now)
• Orange food colour
  

For the filling

• 2 cups (360gms) cream cheese (Shop Now)
• ¼ tsp (1gm) cardamom
• a few strands of saffron
• ¾ cup (180gms) whipping cream
• 1+1/2 tbsp (18gms) cornflour
• 1+1/2 cup (484gms) condensed milk
  

Instructions

• Add crushed biscuits, powdered pistachios, and melted ghee in a bowl. Mix all of this till everything is coated with ghee evenly.
• Transfer this mixture to a circular pan (from which the cake can be later removed easily). Press down and cover the base of the pan with the biscuit mixture. Let it sit in the refrigerator.
• For the Boondi, in a mixing bowl take besan and gradually add water while whisking continuously. Make sure there are no lumps. Lastly, add a few drops of orange food colour and mix well.
• In a kadhai, set over medium heat, add ghee and wait for the temperature to reach 140-150°C. Gradually pour the batter over a spider spoon. Let the Boondis fry for a while before taking them out.
• For the sugar syrup, take a pan and add water, sugar, rose water and orange food colour. Let the sugar dissolve. Immediately dunk your Boondis into the syrup while it’s still hot. Let it sit for a while.
• For the cheesecake filling, in a small bowl add whipping cream and cornflour and mix till its lump free. Set it aside.
• In a large bowl add softened cream cheese. Use a spatula to smooth it out. Add in cardamom with saffron and mix well.
• Now add in the cornflour slurry that was kept aside, along with condensed milk. Bring everything together till there are no large lumps.
• Bring out the pan from the refrigerator and transfer the filling over your biscuit base. Lastly, top the filling with homemade sweet Boondis.
• Prepare a hot water bath and put the cheesecake in a preheated oven at 170°C for 40-45 minutes. Let it cool down completely.
  

Final Touch: Top it up with some more Boondis, powdered pistachios and gold leaf for decoration.

It’s quick, it’s easy, it’s delicious. Dense and softened dollops of bread bathed in syrup—no one can say no to a Gulab Jamun. Digging into these delicious doughy orbs soaked in a rich nectar of sugar, saffron and cardamom is always a delight.

Ingredients:

• 8 bread slices
• 1 tbsp (8gms) milk powder
• ½ cup (120ml) milk
• 1 cup (200gms) sugar
• 1 cup (240ml) water
• ½ tsp (2.5gms) cardamom powder (Shop Now)
• 4-5 strands saffron/ kesar (Shop Now)
• Oil for frying
  

Instructions:

• In a mixer, grind 8 slices of bread until you get crumbs.
• In a medium sized mixing bowl, add breadcrumbs, milk powder and milk to form a soft dough.
• Cover it and let it rest for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, prepare your chashni (sugar syrup). For that, in a pan add equal quantity of sugar and water.
• Let it boil until sugar dissolves and the mixture starts to thicken.
• As it starts to thicken, add cardamom powder and a few strands of kesar (saffron). Once done, take it off the heat and keep it aside.
• Make small dough balls and cover them.
• In a kadhai, add oil and heat at medium–low flame. Start frying the bread Gulab Jamuns (a few together) once the oil temperature reaches 140-150 °C.
• Fry all the bread Gulab Jamuns and dunk them in warm syrup. Let it soak for at least an hour or more before serving.

Sharbat has been THE welcome drink for most family gatherings. But when we combine it with an equally loved baked goodie—sponge cake—it becomes irresistible. Marrying the much adored Tres Leches (Mexican sponge cake), with the goodness of a rose sharbat creates a not-to-be-missed symphony of flavours that will leave your guests wanting for more.  

Ingredients:
For cake

• 1 + ½ cups (180gms) Maida (all-purpose flour (Maida)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder (Shop Now)
• 1 cup (285gms) yogurt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda (Shop Now)
• ¾ cup (150gms) castor sugar
• ½ cup (120ml) vegetable oil
• ¼ tsp kewra extract
• 1 tbsp (15 gms) Rooh Afza
• Red food colour

For Soak

• ½ cup (153 gms) condensed milk
• ½ (115 gms) fresh cream
• 1 + ½ (360gms) cup milk
• 4 tbsp Rooh Afza (Shop Now)
• Whipping cream (Shop Now)
• Chopped pista
• Dried rose petals (Shop Now)
• Gold leaf

Instructions:

• Pre -heat the oven to 180°C and line a 9x13-inch rectangular pan with parchment paper.
• In a bowl add the yogurt and sprinkle baking soda over it and set it aside to foam up.
• Add the castor sugar, oil and Rooh Afza into the same bowl and mix it well until combined.
• Gently sift in the flour and baking powder and mix until everything is well combined and there are no large flour pockets in the batter. Add the food colour and mix. Do not over mix at this stage.
• Transfer the batter to the greased cake pan. Bake at 180°C for 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
• While the cake is baking, make the milk mixture by combing milk, fresh cream, condensed milk and Rooh Afza. After the cake is baked, trim the top and pour the milk liquid on the cake and tilt the pan so that the milk covers the entire cake.
• Let it set in the fridge for one hour. Then demould the cake from the pan.

Final Touch: Add some more liquid and top the cake with whipped cream, pistachios and rose petals. Serve away.

The spongey goodness and simple flavours of Rasmalai is what makes it so special. Mix with that rich flavour of chocolate and you get your new favourite dessert. The taste of cardamom, dry fruits and chocolate come together beautifully in this staple fusion dessert.

Ingredients
For the Chenna (Indian curd cheese)

• 4 cups (960ml) milk
• 3 tbsp (14ml) vinegar (Shop Now)
• 3 tbsp (15ml) water
• 2 tsp (7gms) cocoa powder
• 2 cups (480ml) Cold water

For the Chocolate Milk

• 3 cups (720ml) milk
• ⅓ cup (67gms) sugar
• 2 tbsp (14gms) cocoa powder (Shop Now)
• ¼ tsp (1gms) cardamom powder
• 2 tbsp (8gms) chopped almonds

For the Sugar Syrup

• 4 cups (960ml) water
• 1 cup (200gms) sugar
• Cold water to dunk cooked chocolate chenna balls

Instructions:

• In a thick bottomed vessel, heat the milk while continuously stirring to avoid the milk from sticking to the bottom. Heat only until its lukewarm. Switch off the stove.
• Mix vinegar and milk together in a separate container and tip it slowly in the milk. Stir continuously with soft hands.
• Once the milk has curdled, strain it over a muslin cloth on a strainer. Immediately wash it with ice cold water. Squeeze out all the excess liquid and let the chenna sit on the strainer, covered in the muslin cloth for at least 20 minutes.
• In this time, you can start making your chocolate milk. In a pan, add milk, sugar, and cardamom powder. Let the sugar dissolve. Gradually add cocoa powder while continuously whisking.
• Lastly add chopped almonds and cook for a while. Once done, keep it aside.
• Open the muslin cloth and transfer the chenna to a plate. Crumble the chenna and start kneading it with your palms.
• After a few minutes of kneading, add the cocoa powder and knead again. Make sure you see no lumps of cocoa in the chenna. Make dough balls, flatten it a bit and let them sit covered.
• In a separate pan, add sugar and water. Let it come to a boil. Add your chocolate chenna balls to this and cook it covered for 8-10 minutes.
• Once they have doubled in size, dunk them in cold water and let them stay until they are cool to touch.
• Take them out, squeeze out the excess water and dunk them in hot chocolate milk. Let them soak for at least one hour.

Final Touch: Garnish with some more almonds and gold leaf before serving.

These are small and fluffy baked mini cakes topped with a creamy swirl of rose cream and adorned with a chunk of golden rasmalai. Everyone will be asking for more.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup (142gms) yogurt
• ¼ cup (50gms) castor sugar
• ¼ cup (60ml) vegetable oil
• 2-3 drops yellow food colour
• ¾ cup (90gms) all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp (2gms) baking powder
• ¼ tsp (0.75gms) baking soda
• ¼ tsp (1gm) cardamom powder
• 1 tbsp (15ml) milk (warm)
• 3-4strands of saffron (Shop Now)

For frosting:

• 1 cup (226gms) softened butter
• 2 cups (270gms) icing sugar
• ½ tsp kewra extract (Shop Now)
• 2 drops of pink food colour

For filling:

• Rasmalai chunks

For garnishing:

• Silver leaf
• Rasmalai chunks
• Crushed pistachios (Shop Now)

Instructions:

• Line a cupcake tray with cupcake liners and preheat your oven at 180°C.
• In your food blender, add in yogurt, oil, caster sugar, and yellow food colour
• On top of that add in flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cardamom powder. Also add in 1 tablespoon milk after infusing it with 3-4 strands of saffron.
• Mix the batter well till everything is combined. Scoop out the batter and add it into your cupcake liners. Bake at 180°C for 20-25 minutes.
• Once baked, let the cupcakes cool down completely.
• To make the frosting, add in softened butter, icing sugar, kewra extract and pink food colour all together and blend until it is well combined.
• In a few seconds, your frosting will be ready. Transfer this to a piping bag and set it aside.
• To assemble the cupcakes, the first thing you need to do is scoop out the centre of all. Soak each cupcake with the rasmalai liquid and fill the centre with rasmalai chunks.

Final Touch: Add the rose buttercream frosting on top and garnish with some silver leaf, a rasmalai piece and crushed pistachios.